1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a digital photo processing apparatus having an input device for receiving digitized image data, an image processor for processing the image data to generate printing data, a digital printer for making photo prints from the printing data, and a data recorder for recording the printing data used by the digital printer on a removable recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Significant improvements have been made in recent years in the performance of digital photographing devices such as digital cameras (digital still cameras) and digital video cameras. Photo prints comparable in quality to those taken with a conventional optical camera may be obtained with such a digital camera by giving a proper image processing to the images and printing the images with a high-performance printer. Many photo processing shops and studios employ digital minilab systems, have the know-how of photo image processing, and own high-performance printers. Such shops have already started the service of printing or otherwise outputting image data acquired with digital photographing devices.
In particular, identification photos for use in applying for passports or licenses, or photos for use in social functions such as marriage arrangements, do not require a developing process and may be freely retaken. Thus, rapidly increasing numbers of photo shops and studios provide services relating to digital photos. When identification photos are taken with a digital camera at a photo shop or studio, for example, image data is acquired by photographing a person in a plurality of frames. The image data is put to an appropriate image processing, and displayed on a monitor screen. An optimal image is selected from the photo images displayed. Photo prints are made with a digital printer by using printing data of the selected photo image.
At this time, final image data used for making the prints may be saved on a removable recording medium such as a floppy disk in anticipation of a re-print order. The floppy disk may be handed to the customer along with the finished photo prints. This is a service unknown heretofore in making identification photos, for example, and will please the customers.
However, with a standard digital camera of the 2 mega-pixel type, the image data size of one still picture in 1600×1200 pixels in TIFF non-compression amounts to as much as 5.5 MB. Even a picture in 800×600 pixels has a data size reaching 1.4 MB. It is therefore impossible to use a floppy disk which is the simplest and cheapest removable recording medium. An MO disk or CD-R has a far larger storage capacity, but is far more expensive per piece. Thus, after all, image data is to be recorded in compressed form.
Lossy compression must be used to secure a sufficient compression ratio. However, to avoid image deterioration, compression ratio should be minimized within a range allowed in recording data on a removable medium. An adjustment of compression ratio for each of such image data would impose a heavy burden on the operator, and lower the productivity of a digital photo processing operation.
In addition, even where an MO disk or CD-R is used as a removable recording medium to save numerous, final photo image data from which photo prints have been made, such image data may still have to be compressed under certain circumstances, to add to the burden on the operator.